What's Happening in Public Health?

July 29, 2013: Energy Drinks: Exploring Concerns About Marketing To Youth. The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will hold a hearing on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 2:30 p.m. titled, “Energy Drinks: Exploring Concerns About Marketing to Youth”. The main agenda is to explore the unethical marketing practices of the energy drink manufacturers targeted towards children below the age of 18. The hearing will also present an opportunity to review an April report, released by Senators Durbin, Blumenthal, and Markey, that revealed evidence of energy drink marketing practices that the report found target teens. To read the entire article please click here. To stream the hearing please read the information below:

Date: Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Hearing Start Time: 2:30 p.m.

Location: 253 Russell Senate Office Building

Please note the hearing will be webcast live via the Senate Commerce Committee website. Refresh the Commerce Committee homepage 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time to automatically begin streaming the webcast.

July 29, 2013: Sufflock lawmakers to talk energy drinks in D.C. As a follow-up to the piece published on April 19th, Sufflock lawmaker who spearheaded the energy drink relugation  in long-Island, highlighting the ill effects of energy drinks on minors has been invited to Washington to weigh in on the issue. For more information and to read the entire story, which was pusblished in Newsday on July 28th please click here.

June 21, 2013: Core faculty member and recent graduate present poster on sleep duration and food choices. PPH core faculty member Dr. Lauren Hale and recent MPH graduate Allison Kruger have been receiving press on their poster on sleep duration and food choices in teens. The pair were quoted in Medscape Medical News and Dr. Hale presented the study's findings at SLEEP 2013: Associated Professional Sleep Societies 27th Annual Meeting. Their research supports the idea that getting enough sleep can have lasting impacts on a teenager's health and well-being. The article itself is currently under review.

June 21, 2013: PPH students take public health service trip. In May 2013, a group of students from Stony Brook, Geneseo, Johns Hopkins, and U-Maryland traveled to Chacraseca, Nicaragua to build a home for a family in need. The student volunteers worked with community members to build a house from the ground up in just ten days. Current MPH students Brittany Kalosza and Brooke Pati and alumnae Diruba Khanam represented PPH on this public health service trip, organized through FriendsNE. Friends New England is a non-profit organization that promotes education and sustainable community development projects. For more information, visit their website.

June 21, 2013: Recent MPH graduate plays important role in Treatment Action Group. Recent graduate Lindsay McKenna serves as an Assistant Project Officer for Treatment Action Group's (TAG) TB/HIV team, supporting the work to accelerate research and expand access to services to fight TB and TB/HIV. Her work involves researching and writing advocacy publications for TAG, presenting on the TB team's work and representing them at conferences, organizing logistics and disseminating important information to activist networks, and liaising with scientific and policy leaders about key issues. Her group recently traveled to India and met with the Revised National TB Control Program (RNTCP) and mobilized activists from all over India to form a TB community advisory board "IndiCAB." The team also conducted site visits in both New Delhi and Dharamsala. Please visit the following links for publications Ms. McKenna has worked on for TAG:

A Necessary Transformation     Advocacy Tool on Pediatric DR-TB     Activist's Guide to Bedaquiline

June 14, 2013: Program in Public Health honors the student graduates of 2013. Congratulations to the graduates of 2013! Core faculty members and special guests honored student graduates on May 23, 2013 at PPH's 8th Convocation. Recipients of student awards were as follows:

*Ann Tempone Scholarship - Anna Cuccia     *Academic Excellence - Mersema Abate

*Overall Excellence - Allison Kruger     *Excellence in Leadership - Russell Keogler     *Excellence in Leadership - Lindsay McKenna

Faculty and leadership awards were also distributed. The student's choice Teaching Award went to Dr. Tia Palermo. Leadership Awards went to Dr. Norman Edelman and Dr. James Tomarken (Commissioner of Health, Suffolk County Department of Health Services). The Keynote Award was presented to Dr. Lawrence Eisenstein (Commissioner of Health, Nassau County Department of Health Services). The program wishes every graduate the best of luck in their futures in Public Health and is looking forward to hearing about their accomplishments!

(Photo credit: Jeanne Neville)

May 3, 2013: Alan Alda visits with public health students.  Alan Alda, renowned actor, writer, and director held a workshop with public health students in a course taught by Dr. Evonne Kaplan-Liss. Seen at left are our students with Senior Academic Coordinator Joanmarie Maniaci, PPH Director Dr. Lisa Benz Scott, Dr. Kaplan-Liss, Dr. Al Jordan, and Alan Alda. Clips from the workshop were featured on CBS News Sunday Morning, which can be viewed here. Alda was also recently honored at the "Stars of Stony Brook" gala, where the new name "Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science" was announced. The Center's goal is to teach scientists how to effectively communicate with the general population about their work. Details on the gala and Center can be found here. 

April 26, 2013: PPH participates in Dental Health Screening. Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) and SBU Dental School co-hosted a Dental Screening Event on April 22, 2013. The event was a tremendous success with over 100 students screened for dental health and 14 groups participating. Represented organizations included PPH, CHILL and CHOICE Peer Educators, Stony Brook LGBTA, Seawolves Against Cancer, Pre-Dental Society, and SB Heals. Long Island Association for AIDS Care (LIAAC) also was in attendance giving free HIV and Hepatitis C testing. The event was also supported by Student Health Services and Commuter Student Services. Seen left is PPH Senior Academic Coordinator Joanie Maniaci with Hugh Finch, DDS, Director of Admissions and Student Affairs for SBU Dental School, SHAC Chair and MPH student Krishna Satish, and Kathleen Valerio from CPO's Health Education Office. Congratulations to all involved on such a successful event! To read more about this event, please visit Stony Brook's Happenings page here.

April 26, 2013: Information fair on sexual assault awareness. Stony Brook University's Center for Prevention and Outreach will hold an information fair on Sexual Assault Awareness Month on April 29th from 11:30am-3:00pm in the HSC Galleria. Information will be provided on sexual assault resources, Stony Brook's SANE center, and opportunities for professional development in working with survivors of sexual assault. To see the event flyer click here.

April 26, 2013: Campaign to End Obesity reports new findings. The current methods used to estimate the costs and savings of federal
legislation do not account for billions of dollars in potential
long-term savings from policies that would prevent or reduce obesity,
according to a new report. Changing the way estimates are conducted
would provide a clearer picture that preventing obesity can help save
money in the long run. The Congressional Budget Office currently estimates the costs of
proposed federal policies over a 10-year time frame. Widening that lens
to 75 years would account for the fact that a person at a healthy weight
would see reduced health care costs and higher wages throughout their
lifetime. This report was funded by RWJF and more information can be found here.

April 19, 2013: County executive approves legislation. On March 26, 2013, health advocates and lobbyists from the beverage industry met with aides of Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone to state their cases in regard to the recent legislation that was passed. For more on what each side said, please read the Newsday article here. To view a News 12 story that aired on April 2, please click here. On April 18, County Executive Bellone signed both pieces of legislation that limit minors' access to energy drinks. This is the first of such legislation in the nation and has come after two and a half years of dedication and support. Congratulations to Tracy Trypuc and everyone who worked so hard to see this through.

April 5, 2013: Update on legislation initiative.
On Tuesday March 19, 2013, Suffolk County lawmakers passed three bills
that will lead to oversight of energy drink sales in the area. One bill
bans the sale of energy drinks at county parks and beaches and another
bans marketing to minors by stopping coupons and free samples. A measure
was also passed that will encouraged local youth to get involved and
submit media about why the drinks are dangerous. For more information
about this advance in public policy, please read the Newsday article here.

December 17, 2012: PPH student plays crucial role in changing legislation. Tracy
Trypuc, BSN, RN, a student of the combined MPH/MBA program, has played a major
role in the public health policy topic of banning energy drink marketing/sales
to youth in Suffolk County. The effects of energy drinks on children and
adolescents have been thoroughly researched for the past two years. The county
board of health has been urged to seek changes in legislation after research
findings show that energy drinks “can cause heart problems, lead to increased
visits to the emergency rooms and even deaths,” states Trypuc, also a board
member. At the Suffolk’s Board of Health meeting on November 28, the board voted
unanimously to send recommendations to the County legislature and to the FDA on
the issue.  Health Commissioner Dr. James
Tomarken, also an affiliated faculty member for the PPH, sent the board’s
letter that called for labeling of all drink ingredients and components in a
noticeable way and also asked that potential regulations ban the distribution
of these drinks to child and adolescents under the age of 19. It may be some
time before we see if the board’s recommendations are acted upon, but we
commend everyone’s hard work toward the cause.

April 5, 2013: PPH alumni present at annual meeting. Congratulations to Aleef Rahman and Ahmed Belazi, along with their mentor Dr. Amy Hammock, on their technology demonstration table presentation at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Health Behavior. The meeting was held March 17-20, 2013 at the El Dorado Hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The technology demonstration was titled "Using Google Analytics and Quick Response Codes in the Real-Time Tracking of a Public Health Social Norms Marketing Campaign;" an abstract can be found here. Aleef and Ahmed are seen left with PPH Director Dr. Lisa Benz Scott. A terrific job done by two amazing alumni!

March 15, 2013 : PPH students help at the SB HOME Health Fair. Current MPH and advanced certificate students tabled at the SB HOME Health
Fair in Central Islip on March 2, 2013 and it was a tremendous success! Students
David Ali and Ahmed Rab ran a table on exercise and fitness where they
distributed CDC-based information to parents and had children engage in
jump-rope exercises. They also collaborated with Stony Brook’s dental students
by providing the incentive of a jump rope to those children willing to get
their teeth checked. Additionally, they watched over the children as parents
went for blood glucose screenings by the medical students. PPH efforts truly
helped to unify many departments’ initiatives. Students Rubiya Haque and Qudsia
Hussain greatly contributed to the profitable bake sale that was held to fund
this table. Pamela Icochea also deserves recognition for her extensive work in
organizing the SB HOME Health Fair from the ground-up. Overall, PPH efforts
made it a fun, educational, and successful day. Great job to everyone involved!
 

March 1, 2013: Stony Brook launches Hazing Prevention Video Contest. The Office of Student Activities is hosting a Hazing Prevention Video Contest open to all students. All videos must be 30-60 seconds in length and designed as a commercial or public service announcement. The following information should be included: (1) what does hazing mean to you? (2) what do you believe Stony Brook students can do to prevent hazing? (3) how to report hazing behavior if you experience it or witness is occurring.

All videos that meet the above qualifications will be screened at the Hazing Prevention Video Contest Screening on Wednesday, March 6th at 1PM in the UNITI Cultural Center Lounge in the Student Union. The winning video will receive $250 programming money to go towards the student organization of their choice. Videos must be posted on YouTube and submitted via email to kimberly.stokely@stonybrook.edu by 11PM on Tuesday, March 5th. For more events from Community Pledge and Community Week, please click here.

March 1, 2013: Core faculty member invited to The Missing Peace Symposium. PPH core faculty member Tia Palermo attended the Missing
Peace Symposium – “Sexual Violence in
Conflict and Post-Conflict Settings” as part of the invited Young Scholars
program. The Missing Peace was a global symposium held by The United States
Institute of Peace (USIP) which brought together scholars, policymakers, and practitioners
to “examine the issue of sexual violence, identify gaps in knowledge and
report, and explore how to increase the effectiveness of current responses to
such violence.” Young Scholars, or recently granted PhD’s, were given the
opportunity to disseminate their research results through poster sessions and
presentations, meet one-on-one with senior academics and policymakers, and sit
at dedicated roundtables to discuss research and foster cross-disciplinary
pollination. The symposium was held at the USIP headquarters in Washington, DC
from February 14-16, 2013. For more information on symposium agenda and bios of
attendees, please click here. Tia was also invited as a panelist at the Columbia
University Epidemiology Scientific Symposium (CUESS) – “The Epidemiology of Sexualized Violence. Global sexualized violence:
From epidemiology to action” on January 25, 2013. For agenda details on that symposium, please click here. Fantastic job, Dr. Palermo!

February 28, 2013: GPPH students receive grant from the Allstate Foundation. PPH students Michael Yen, Kyle Urbanczyk, and Jorge Sanchez, have received a $10,000 grant from the Allstate Foundation. The grant application was written during the Capstone Seminar course, supervised by PPH core faculty member Dr. Lauren Hale and primary investigator Dr. Lucy Weinstein. The grant will be used for organizing a video competition open to high school students in the Long Island area who will create clips on the topic of safe driving; the winner will be featured on the web. The funds will also be used for lobbying state legislators and care insurance companies to introduce safer driving legislation, policies, and incentives. This funding will be a huge help for promoting advocacy and awareness for safe driving in the Queens, Brooklyn, Nassau, and Suffolk County areas. This is one great example of how PPH integrates compentencies and connects to practical needs and opportunities in public health.

January 31, 2013: Provost's Lecture in Health Policy to be held in March. Dr. Daniel Fox, a historian and political scientist who is a distinguished scholar in health policy, is coming to campus to lecture this coming March. Dr. Fox has a long connection to Stony Brook, where he taught for nearly 20 years, serving for most of that time as EVP for Academic Affairs for the Health Science schools. Since 1990 he has been Executive Director and then Emeritus Director of the Milbank Memorial Foundation, with a hand in policy formation and advocacy in a number of areas. He will be giving his Provost's Lecture on March 25th at 4PM in the Wang Center Theater. The title of his talk is "Patients' Rights and the Governance of the Health Sector: Two Stories to Inform Policy." Please click here for further event details!